Telok Melano: Candid Post

Welcome To Telok Melano!!!!

Where it took a couple of hours to reach by Adi's boat...
And the people shrivelled from the monotony of the ride...

With some knocked out cold on the deck...

And the children went cuckoo with the"staking-crab-dance"

And the devil falling asleep...

While her devotee prayed for her wakefulness....
( "Ai ya, mai car lar..." )
[i.e. " Don't bother me..."]

As the little pet watcher had a little break-time fun from the back...

Just another filler post....

Telok Melano: Dedication Post

This post is dedicated to those people who have been through all the trouble to make this trip a reality. We would like to extend our gratitute to them and may they all live with laughters in their life on a daily basis. :)

Kim, Adi the boatman and Edward "Dog-Chain" Yong

On their way to visit the other families in the village...

While Kim had a good bite of the mango she found on her way...

And Eddie falling 'pe-lang-ting' from the boat on his way out to sea...

Just filling the gaps with photos...

Telok Melano: What Do They Have???

Telok Melano, village at the border of Malaysia/Indonesia, 56 families, population nearly 300, receives and watches the TV channels of Indonesia.

What do they have here?

This is the house of the head of the village. He is the one responsible for all things big and small relating to the village affairs. This house has a university graduate from the Malaysia Northern University.

Trails, one of dirt and one of cement lead to all corners of the village.

A wooden bridge at the west end.

A tree-shaded tea break table.

The only school in the village. I wonder if it meant both primary and secondary school?

A public phone booth at the door of the village leader's house.

One that does not work...

More phone booths, and a satelite dish... I wonder what this is for???

Telok Melano: At The Host's Place

Adi lives in a little house partially made of wood and bricks at the east end of the village. The house with a white roof may look small from the exterior, but it is rather spacious on the interior. If they needed more space, all that they had to do was to add more bricks or wood to the land, and wa lah!!! You got yourself a new room for whatever purposes it was created for.

This is the host's house.

These were the guests!!!!

And the feast began!!!

The hungry bunch.... :)

Adi's house cooks the best curry on the island!!!! Long live the island's curry house!!!

Telok Melano: The Island

We, the divers and good friends of Adi the boatman, were cordially invited to his exotic and peaceful village of Telok Melano, Lundu, Malaysia, in celebration of the second day of Hari Raya. We were thankful for his generosity and kindness, and would like to share with the readers of the world, the beauty of the land bordering that of Indonesia.

Telok Melano, as we first approached it after nearly two hours of boat ride from the Sematan jetty.

The tide was low as we neared the shore. The rocks jutting out in the middle of the water were very dangerous to passing ships and boats when the tide was high.

The front view of Telok Melano. This was the direction that we would land ashore.


There was a long jetty extending out towards the sea. But then we badly needed a smaller boat to board us all to land without wetting ourselves.

Arriving ashore, with Adi the boatman leading the way back to his home. He might look a little lonely, but there were 30 of us trailing behind him!!!

If you crossed over the mountains, you would find yourself in the land of Indonesia.

We Are In The Papers!!!

Sin Chew Daily, the national chinese newspapers of Malaysia, was kind enough to provide us with two pages of special report (complete with colours) about the wonders of DIVING!!!

Here's us:

The page on the right was published on 5 October 2006, Thursday, showing the underwater world pictures of Kuching waters and Miri waters. The two divers at the bottom of the page were Kim (yellow tank) and Angel (white tank).

The page on the left was published on 8 October 2006, Sunday, page 21. The group photos shown in the middle was the one that we took while on our trip to Tanjong Dato' in August. The following is a close-up of the aforementioned group photo.

p/s: Fish, if you are reading this, try guessing who's who behind the two newspapers pages in the first photo. Don't you just miss them two gals....

It's Getting Dark

Something is growing inside of me. A darkness that is trying to envelope me, and pull me down with all its might.

It does not march in with drums and trumpets, but sneaks up at you when you are most unaware.

It comes, and slowly, you cease to function normally.

It starts with your five senses, with which you communicate with this world. Then it starts to seep into your brain, the part that makes sense of the world around you. Finally, it seeps into your heart, the core of your spirit.

You start to see things the way it wants you to see. You start to hear things the way it wants you to hear. You start to think the things that it wants you to think. And you start to understand things the way it wants you to understand.

It isolates you, and makes you think that this world is your enemy.

You start to withdraw, and stop keeping in touch with this world.

It creeps into your heart, and clamps it with its cold hands, making you believe falsely that this world is a cold one.

May be it is. Cold as ice. Hard as a rock.

But I am also a part of this world too. Remember?

May be.

But I'm cold now. And this darkness is still pulling on me. It's still trying to pull me down.

I cannot lose.

Sicker

It is getting worse. Whatever that I was feeling before, it was getting worse.

I am getting more and more disheartened by the moment. All that I could feel now is the greyness that shrouds me like a blanket.

And it is suffocating me.

Work is busy, but that was usual. We are making progress slowly. But there are times when I do wonder, if I really am fulfilled by all this.

My work is my living, but it is not my life.

There are times when I feel that I am like a joke to another, or to others. I don't mind being a clown in a crowd, it makes people laugh and happy. But I hate it dearly when people talked about me behind my back, as though I am a joke. It hurts especially so when those people who talked about me like that are the people dear to me. It do not really hurt when normal people talk about me from behind. I do not really care about them and what they think. I could not give a f***ing damn.

My head is clouded, and I could not think properly. There is something so maddening about it. I just cannot make sense of some things now. Damn, my head hurts.

I cannot think. I cannot make sense of things. My eyes sting. And I cannot feel properly.

I don't want no drugs.

Leave me alone.

Sick

I'm drowning.

The darkness in me is growing, and it is dragging me under.

I cannot think. I do not know what to think or feel. There are times when things happen and I do not know how to react.

I am sorry. I am just being myself.

I am losing myself.

This thing is taking me down again.

Disoriented

I woke up this morning, not knowing what day or time was it.

Everything was a blur in my head.

I had the weirdest dreams. People from different walks of my life were in there, doing things that I did not think that they would normally do. I guessed that they were not bad dreams, at least the lightings were good in them. That said something.

We were in this little japanese room, the size roughly around six tatamis, and sitting in a circle. There was a picture perched on a drawing rack at the right corner of the room, and a sliding door that opened up to the garden (I thought it was a garden) was just beside the drawing, in the middle of the area. People from my present and past life were sitting in a circle in that room. It was like we were having a cell meeting, with education and good will in mind. It was like a family in spirit, something that I once felt when I was still in church.

But I am not in church anymore, and I resent that.

I am alone now, and I don't care. I would rather be on my own, than having to go back and face those people who kill in the name of God. Those who said that they loved and cared for me, yet abandoned me in times of crisis.

That was how I learned to grow strong. I was left alone when I was dying.

What does not kill you, will only make you stronger.

I guess my church nowadays is the open water. That was the drawings on that picture perched at the side of that room in my dream. :)

After thoughts: This is the closest that I would get to talking about my past. Don't touch me there if you are still with me.

Divemaster

What does it take to become a divemaster?

Well, first of all, you must have the awareness that you are there to work. It will not be leisure diving for you anymore, and it will be your responsibility to watch over the whole board and take care of your divers. Responsibilities are your priorities now.

When one bears the title of a master, one bears the responsibilities of those under one's care.

Therefore, one should always be on the alert to watch out for potential problems that might arise from different situations, be it the water, the equipments, or the divers themselves.

A divemaster is, well, a master in diving. And being a master it means that one will have to have the knowledge and skills to teach to others and handle all sorts of situation, like aforementioned, be it the water, the equiments, or the divers themselves. One will be required to review each new qualified diver for their diving skills, and lead them around the local dive sites. So, one must not just be a master of skills, but also a master of the location too. If any one of your divers is having problems with their equipment, you are the one required to fix it. Master Obi-wan is the cure to all problems.

A divemaster is also the most needed assistant of a diving instructor. A diving student will usually approach his divemaster and not their instructor for assistance. The instructor will also approach a divemaster for his assistance in guiding their students, especially underwater.

Body fitness is a necessity. One would be required to do a lot of physical work, starting from carrying and stacking the air tanks, to equipping and accompanying the divers, and the washings and cleaning of all diving equipments after a trip. Tedious is the work of a divemaster.

Well, on the advantages of being a divemaster... one gets to meet all sorts of people (one might say that is no advantage at all. The multitute and spectrum of human characters, it's so difficult to handle!!!), and makes lots of friends. And when one travel to another place to dive, one gets a big discount from the local agent, for you will need less care by them. Let you "chap sang" on your own lar....

So, if you still want to become a divemaster, then pay RM1,800.00 for the course lar.... you will get to go on all diving trips during the period of your course for FREE!!!!

What Should I Do??

What am I feeling now?

aise my eye brows*

.......

*Kept on driving and avoided a motorcyclist that just crossed my path. Oi!!!*

You know how it feels like to have this one guy, who likes you and intends to marry you, but never tells you or confirms it.

*Raise my eye brows again, higher now*

And you don't know whether to go for another one, or wait stupidly (the actual words were "gong gong") for this one.

*Nodding slowly, turning right at the junction*

And when someone else comes along and asked, "Do you have a boyfriend?", and all that you could answer is, "Er.................."

What do you do? Should I take up that man, or should I wait?

That's how I'm feeling now!!!

And that stupid fella who's staling me is the KPM!!!!

*I stopped my car, turned around and smiled at her. *

She smiled back, said good bye, and let herself out of my car.

中秋时到八月诗

Alwin sent me this:

吴刚调戏嫦尔笑
玉兔思量断臂山
后羿自宫众人乐
桂树长住广寒宫

去年今日此床上
真刀真枪干正欢
弹痕依旧留衿被
只剩一人对月亮

A bit sad, especially the last few phrases... But hey, it's only meant as entertainment... Alwin said that it's laughable... Well, may be for the first few phrases... But the last few phrases are rather sad... Don't you think so, KP???

And oh, 中秋节快乐！！！

Smoke Gets in Your Eyes

I took a day off today. Life is getting more stressful and tiring with the haze setting in again.

The reading today was 96 for Kuching. That was above the level healthy to us.

The Indonesia side of the island (i.e. Borneo) was having a worse hit than us. Visibility was only 100-200 metres for some places. One of the officials said that the haze was spread "evenly" throughout the whole region, so that meant that there were other bush fires in the area.

I hate the haze.

The last time when it came in its worst was in 1997, the time when I was about to sit for my Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (Malaysia Educational Certificate, or SPM as we all call it). Visibility was so bad, that the furthest one could see, was the lamp post immediately after the one that one was standing beside. There was nothing but yellow fug everywhere.

The haze was just so depressing. It brought us all down.

Go away!!!

Bloody Tuesday

MC and I were brave yesterday. Well, at least we didn't squirm at the sight of some dark maroon liquid flowing out of the tube with a needle inserted into the inside of her elbow.

Blood!!!

Too bad only MC could donate. I was always shunned at the door when I wanted to donate blood. It was either my blood pressure was too low for donation, or the fact that I had been to Europe between 1980 and the present, that I was excluded from the group that were allowed to donate blood.

1980 to the present.... THAT'S MY ENTIRE LIFE!!!!

Those dumbwits in the ministry should at least try to revise those questionnaires every once in a while. Yeah, I've been to the islands and the continent, but I've also been back for more than four years!!! Any residue of what was left from my stay in Europe should have cleared from my system!!!

So, there I was, sitting beside the small table where the "nurse" was supposed to measure your blood pressure, and being talked to. This "nurse" was a guy, and he was more interested in getting me to talk to him than taking my pressure!!

I mean, I don't mind getting chatted up once in a while. There's always the feminine pride to be fed! But I do prefer that someone who is interested to be, well, at least, NOT MARRIED!!!

Furthermore, I think that a man who takes his job seriously and does them right is the sexiest.

Take my word for this, I really do mean it. Man are most attractive to me when they are concentrated on what they are doing and being really serious about it.

This was not me being rude, but hey, I'm way out of your league, spec-guy!!! Go try it on someone who would actually give you a damn!!!

But before you do that, do you mind taking my pressure??

Alright, so I couldn't donate blood. And my pressure was alright that day, damn....

So, there I was sitting beside the bed that MC was lying in, and looking forlornly as the nurse (now a proper nurse) insert that huge needle into her vein and watched with fascination as the blood, fresh and warm, started to flow into the bag below.

I've got to say, MC's blood looks pretty nice. I mean, the colour and the viscosity. Not too dark, not too viscous, not too thin too. The good things of being young and healthy.

Well, I've got to give it to the spec-guy. Now he was actually sitting beside MC's bed at the head of the bed!!! Way to go, MC, you got him coming this time!!! And he was actually trying to imagine MC in her year 19th?!! I mean, alright, you've been one of the technicians at the Blood Donation drive of her high school, but could you really remember her since she was one of the tens or hundreds of students giving blood??

Man, if you are really fascinated by women, and love to communicate with them, try improving yourself more, so that we would be fascinated by you!!

Be good, and people will just come to you!!

I don't think I'll be able to donate blood for the rest of my life, do I?

Duu duu... Hello, America!!!

Duu duu.... Duu duu... Duu duu...

Click kok... buzz buzz...

Hoi..

Hello??

Hey, it's me...

YS??? What are you calling me for??? I'm in the States now!!!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

When did you go?

I'm here for ten days.

What?!!! Ok, ok... I'm putting down now... *grumble grumble: Go States also didn't tell me... Damn expensive to call that far...*

Monkeo!!! Have a good time in the States!!! But which part are you in now? I didn't get the name the other night... Heh....

MC's Misfortune of the Weekend

MC was having a training session at the Travilion Square this Saturday before. I was lying in bed thinking to myself if I should be up for my shower, when she called me.

It was 6.20 p.m. She was already home.

My car got broken into arh!!!!

What???!!!

I sat up straight on my bed.

气死我了!!! (i.e. I was so mad!!!)

Then her steam went off... Rattle... Rattle... Rattle...

You alright??

我没事... (i.e. I'm alright)

She told me that her player was taken, along with her size XL rear view mirror, and her tissue box...

TISSUE BOX!!!

Ok, now. There are two ways of looking at this. First, those people were just making (or taking) the most out of their job. Hey, they were businessmen too, right? They'd got to maximise their profits. Second, those lousy sons-of-a-bitches were just too cheap-staked to let a box of tissue loose!!!

Tissue box!!!

Man, talk about no honours among thieves.

Poor MC had to drive herself to the workshop to get her window fixed, while feeling numb and shocked from the aftermath of that event.

She ditched that evening of lesson and went home after getting her window replaced. Hence, the phone call.

Oh, man... Never, ever leave your valuables lying around your car in plain view of the public, even loose change could trigger the greed of another man. Hey, what do you know? They just have to make that phone call with those change.

So, MC... You have my condolences...

May your player and your tissue box rest in peace... Amen...

Aww.... don't be so sad... I'll buy you cheesecake the next time round, k?

Lie In

I am not moving today.

I am just so not wanting to move today.

But morning came, and for the sake of love I was woken up by my mother's movement around the house.

Not that I am complaining. I love my mum, and she works really hard for this family. It is me that is the problem.

There are times when I just cannot get myself to sleep. Yet there will be times when it is so hard for me to get up.

Today is just one of those days when it is so very hard to get me to get up.

It was raining outside. The most wonderful weather to have a good lie in.

So I did.

I spent one and a half hour in my bed, with my eyes half closed, and my mind wandering aimlessly from breakfast to MC's broken-in car the day before.

God, this was so nice...

September Blues

September is just not a good month.

It is a lazy month, a month where I do not have the mood or energy to do anything at all.

Yet I have done much. I went on my first diving trip to the Satang island, where the waters were known for its muckiness and murkiness.

That was my first muck dive. Visibility was bad, less than 1 metre. I couldn't even see my buddy's fins unless they were right in front of me.

Then there was the time which I spent with MC.

MC was cool. I could hang out with her for hours and not get bored for one minute. Laughter is a natural. We would come together not knowing what to talk to each other for the first few minutes, but then soon after we would be rambling and laughing our heads off for the rest of our time together, be it an hour or a day.

We practically guffawed at some points.

Recently I took to the habit of teasing her about her boobs.

It did not start intentionally. I met her this one day when she decided to wear a black loose, yet not so loose, top. While talking animatedly to my other friend, I accidentally placed my fingers on her boobs.... Boobs, people, not just "a (as in ONE) boob"...

-__-"

She was wearing BLACK that day, for goodness sake!!!! How was I to know where exactly to place my fingers??? I couldn't, at that time, have a clear view of the landscape!!! If I had known where the mountains were, I would not have touch her there!!!

And then there was another episode where I (again!!!) accidentally elbowed her on her right pack.

I didn't do that on purpose, I swear!!!

I wasn't even looking!!! She was also wearing black that night!!!

Then there was the day before, when she came in a flare green skirt with lace at the edge and (another) black and loose (yet not so loose) top. I pretended to peep into her cleavage from the top of her head while she was sitting down. Haha!!!

I did not see a thing, though... Damn...!! Not even her cleaves....

She is finally looking more like her acquired profession, with that skirt thing.

I think it will take me sometime to get use to an MC who will be wearing lengthy skirts and dresses for most of her day. The only outfits that I have seen her in so far, are either pants (short, quartered, and long), or her lovely pink bikini (just enough to cover and hold).

But what the heck, I will still love that MC who laughs like what she just heard is the funniest thing in the world, be she in her hot, sexy spaghetti or in a classic sphinster "cover-me-all-long-dull-and-grey" dress.

Fish!!! This blog is written for you!!! We are all fine here, lady!!! Doing well, and living good. But we are all in our blues period now. MC is fighting with the blues that came with not getting her posting, and I am fighting with my blues that came with my job.

We all miss you!!! Just so you know, if you ever suffer from any episode of sneezing frenzy, that would be us talking about you in Meow Meow Land!!! Hahahaha!!!

Take care, lady, and have a good month!!!

Ir

Ir's having a bad day today.

Ir's looking at her razor today.

Ir woke up in the morning, and saw that her world was grey.

Ir did not want to leave her bed. There were so many things to do, yet none of them meant anything to her.

But they meant getting on with her life.

Ir took a long time to get out of bed, and dragged her feet into the bathroom.

Ir looked into the mirror, and saw a face staring back. It was pale, dull and puffy. The eyes that started back at her were almost as lifeless as a corpse.

Ir put her brush down, and walked back to her bed.

Ir curled herself up into a ball, and pulled the sheet over her head.

Ir was coming down with it again.

And the long battle began.

Oh.... *wince*

Oh man, I've been sick...

It was Saturday. I just came back from Miri the day before, and worked that morning. Al took me out for lunch after work and we had chicken rice at one of those coffee shops on STC road.

I stopped by the swimming pool later on my way home, at which I found Tracy there doing her pool session with Edward. It was a hot day, and the sun was glaring. I could feel the heat radiating off the ground as I walked across the park.

I took a shower immediately after I reached home and regretted that. The heat from the sun was still in my body, and I should have waited for it to cool down. A sudden drop in the body temperature disrupts our immune system, and that was how I came to be sick with a fever.

I had diarrhoea too, which had me frequenting the toilet for more than ten times in a day.

Nothing went into my system without coming right out of it in a matter of one or two hours. I was exhausted with dehydration. Yet I was not keen in drinking more water, for the fear of having anything in my system would make me run to the mercy of my toilet the next minute.

But being sick actually made me stayed at home, and I finally got to watch "Brokeback Mountain".

Oh, man.. I hate being sick..

How to Save a Life - The Fray (2005)

Step one you say we need to talk
He walks you say sit down it's just a talk
He smiles politely back at you
You stare politely right on through
Some sort of window to your right
As he goes left and you stay right
Between the lines of fear and blame
And you begin to wonder why you came

Chorus:
Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life

Let him know that you know best
Cause after all you do know best
Try to slip past his defense
Without granting innocence
Lay down a list of what is wrong
The things you've told him all along
And pray to God he hears you
And pray to God he hears you

Chorus:
Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life

As he begins to raise his voice
You lower yours and grant him one last choice
Drive until you lose the road
Or break with the ones you've followed
He will do one of two things
He will admit to everything
Or he'll say he's just not the same
And you'll begin to wonder why you came

Chorus:
Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life

*Repeat Chorus 3X*

How to save a life

Click on my title:
http://www.thefray.net/

Monkeo

Monkeo is my friend.

I have known her since 1998, and we have been very good friends since.

Very good friends: def. A person or a group of people whom one shares a solid relationship(s), tied together by the same interest or a connection of mind, heart or soul.

Monkeo is small and thin, like a monkey. Short in her height and short in her hair length, she wears a pair of glasses. Hence, I cannot really remember what her eyes are like. I guess they are small, hidden behind those glasses. But hey, you don't need big eyes to see the world.

Monkeo and I went to college together. She sat at the back while I took the front seat. She was thin and I was fat. I walked up to her one day and decided we should be friends. That day, we went to Sunway Pyramid's McDonald and sat there the whole afternoon reading our texts and talked.

That was how it all started.

Monkeo and I liked to drink tea. Well, not the tea. We liked it when we could just sit in one little shop and talk the whole afternoon away. We would then have dinner at that shop too, and kept on talking until it was time to close.

We were young, right? Time was the only asset we possessed.

The time I spent with Monkeo, was the period of my life where I watched the most movies. We could catch two to three movies in a week. Most of my pocket money went into the Golden Screen Cinema. We would catch a bus in the afternoon right after class, and paid 50 cents to get to the Pyramid. Monkeo walked a fast pace, and I would always have to follow in an equally *pant* fast pace, with heavy knapsacks on our backs, and all our previous class materials and texts in them. I wonder now why I did not slim down with all those hard work?

When we finished college, Monkeo and I decided that we would like to be pharmacists. So, we started our university application. Monkeo got a place in a university near her home, and I got into another university which provided courses from overseas institutions. We went our seperate ways after that.

All throughout our university life we did not see each other. The next time I saw her, we were already pharmacists.

Monkeo came in her slippers and shorts looking exactly like a tourist in town, with that heavy knapsack on her back again. Her pace was still fast, and her talking faster. Monkeo was still the same. Time moved on, but there were things that would always be the same. :)

Monkeo is my friend, and I guess we will be even to the day we both passed on. Somethings will never change. Right, friend?

Imagine You & Me

Ever thought about going gay?

Or is it something that one just felt, and not decide?

Sexual confusion.

Does everyone feel it, or is it just a portion of us?

Do we feel it sometimes, at a certain period of our life? Or do we just know?

Sexual confusion.

We are not supposed to be confused. Initially, there were only a man and a woman.

Just one man, and just one woman.

Man and woman, they fit, like two jigsaw puzzles.

Man and man, or woman and woman, they are two of the same pieces.

And that is the saddest part of it all. They match, but they don't fit.

Sexual confusion. We are not supposed to be confused.

It's just you and me... imagine that...

I'm A Big Girl Now!!!

Last Sunday was the day when I went independent. Remember how you feel when you first leave home and step into the world? That was how I felt when I finally decided to ditch my "mother" ship and join the "big boys".

Now when my instructor, Edward, organises diving trip, he usually takes people enough for one boat. A big one could take a rough figure of twenty people. But on this particular day, he suddenly decided to take two boats of people instead of one. One he duped the beginner/leisure boat, and the other, the hunting boat!!!

When Edward was arranging the names for both boats, I told him that I wanted the join the other boat (i.e. the hunting boat), without realising at that time that it was a hunter's group. When I actually met these "hunters" in person, I realised that this could be another huge step of growing up for me as a diver.

Tough, was the only impression I could have about them. No longer was there our "daddy" (i.e. Edward, instructor) or "mummy" (i.e. Kim, the assistant) to watch over us, or in this case, ME!!! I was the most inexperience of them all, though not the youngest yet. The youngest was a petite little lady with dark skin and a butter-melting voice. She was married (too bad, guys) with a one-year-old. Her husband came with her, weighing approximately 105kg??

Fourteen of us went on board the "hunting" boat, and it took us out to Talang Besar. My buddy was a centimetre-182 guy with a dragon tattoo circling halfway around his belly button. I was staring at his dragon at one point (so very un-lady-like of me!!) and I asked him if he had that tattoo made in a way that it actually stood out in 3-D? They laughed at me!!! Guessed it was just my eyes playing tricks on me. Sheesh...

Two dives that day. Each one lasted about 60 min in average. Now, I was finally able to organize myself to get my gear onto my back and put on everything (i.e. fins, mask) without another's help. When you are on a "babysit-ted" boat, you would get people to carry your tank and fins for you so it would be easier to put everything on. But not anymore, I am a big girl now. I didn't need "daddy" or "mummy" to carry my things for me. Dad!!! I know how to tie my fins around my booties!!! Oh, I'm so proud of myself!!! (Contented sigh...)

We did not dive too deep. The depth was less that 10 metres, and at one point I was so near the surface, I had a "runaway ascent" (i.e. ascending involuntarily and going too fast, which is extremely dangerous). But due to the fact that I was not too far from the surface when the ascend took place, I am still alive today (literally speaking). I struggled for a few seconds to get back down, but gave up after a while. I decided to just watch my buddy dragon-boy trying to catch a lobster underneath the rock. The water was too shallow, no point getting down there again and get yourself sick with decompression.

And I was the luckiest girl in Talang-Talang that day. Who gets to see a sea-horse? Me!!! Second dive. Free descent to the bottom, and there it was, all white and red, floating just beside its coral habitat. Smaller than an ear-ring's hook, it took off in a swish when I tried to come nearer. Hey, I was just trying to be friends!!! Don't go running away from me!!!

The current was strong at the end of the dive. Two of us got swept away so far that no amount of emergency whistling or waving could get the people onboard to take notice. The lucky thing was, the waves were not high that day, and somehow, someone spotted them, and took the boat nearer so we could pick them up. People, if you ever go diving, don't forget to always be extra careful with your orientation and navigation.

Is that the Right Hormone???

What is going to happen if guys started to pop Norethisterone (I.E. synthetic, i.e. man-made, progesterone, i.e. female hormone) into their body? On top of that, they are also taking Clomifene.

All you pharmacists out there!!!! If you are reading this, please give me some feedback!!! I have absolutely no idea what all this would do to a male structure, other than making him more feminine.

My Eye.. My Eye...

I was driving that other day, when I felt an itch in my right eye. Carelessly, I rubbed it with my finger, which somehow penetrated the slit between my eyelids and grazed my eye balls... yew......!!!!!

It stopped my heart a beat, and I almost ran my car off the road. God, that was dangerous!!!

I checked my eye later on, and saw a bright red string to the inner side of my right eye. I was so tempted to believe that it was really a piece of red string (the kind that we Chinese used to tie around our wrist or finger to ward off evil spirits) sticking onto my conjunctiva (i.e. a piece of membrane that forms the outer layer of your eye ball), but I knew better. How could anyone have a piece of string in her eye and not feel any irritation? But we humans are so vulnerable at times. We choose to believe in things that we wanted to. It makes life easier.

But life is never easy. So, wake up!!!!

Life was also busy that day, which meant that I did not have the time to go find a decent doctor for a check-up. That evening, the bright colour of the string had faded to a more brownish shade. Well, that's slightly comforting. At least the inflammation had subsided.

The next day, I went to a doctor, just for the peace of my mind, and also to stop my mum from nagging and lecturing me. Sometimes I do wonder who is the one holding a p******* degree in the house, she or me?

That cuckoo of a doctor gave me steroids and antibiotic for my eye!!! After he had examined me in a darkened room, Dr. K told me that there were two spots of microhaemorrhaging in my R eye. He said that it would heal in a few days time, and in the mean time, use this...

I should have known better to listen to him in this sort of situation. I had doubts about using steroids here. The thing there then was to prevent an infection, and steroids would only make that worse. But then I thought to myself, hey, what do I know, he's the doctor. I'm only a pharm*****.

Ok, so I dropped that *cursed* eyedrop into my eye, and by lo and by ho, I got a swollen eye lid the next morning!!! Now, I really got an infection!!!

Ok, so I had an infection. Each morning for four subsequent days I woke up with hard yellow crust sealing my eye. Each morning I looked at myself in the mirror and cursed myself for not listening to myself. My eyeballs stung at times, and my eyesight was worsening. Now, I was really worried.

I went to an eye specialist on Monday morning. It was due to the weekend that I waited this long to see my second doctor. The clinic was filled with patients, mostly elderlies and their families. The lobby was so crowded that people waiting in line had to sit at the outside of the clinic.

I registered myself, and was told to wait for at least an hour. Well, an hour sounded alright given the amount of people waiting in the clinic.

Dr. T was my specialist, and he flipped opened my eyelid to have a good look under it. The swelling had subsided that morning, and I was most convinced that the infection had gone away. But the good doctor took out a sterile needle and pricked me under my lids. "Don't move your head, and don't panic... ok? Don't panic.."

He used a cotton bud to squeezed a big lump of pus out of my under-lid. Yellow pus stained with red blood. Oh, my heavenly goodness...

But it did feel so much better.

Doc gave me antibiotics, and I made sure this time that there was not steroids included. Nah ah.. no steroids for me.

Big-Muscled Narcissists

I work in a place where there is a gym situated on the first floor next door to my office. This gym houses some of the most prominent body builders in Kuching, e.g. Mr. Sarawak, and the runner-up to Mr. Sarawak.

Every morning from 9.30 to 11.00, and in the evening after four, you will hear the banging and crashing of weights onto the floor above. One of my staffs, Rozza, who did not know at first that there was a gym above our heads (not directly, though, it was our next door neighbour), was always wondering what sort of construction was going on on top of us. They actually rock the whole building when they put their weights down!!!

Body builders go for lines and not strength. They are judged by how clearly defined their muscles are, and how big they are. Therefore, my neighbours are always trying to bring down their body fat and pump up their lean muscle mass, and they love their mirrors!!!

Believe it or not, body builders do not really eat a whole and complete meal. They would drink protein powder, and take nutritional tablets (sometimes more than ten tablets in one serving, two to three servings per day), and push needles. Their total calori intake per day could amount up to 1,800 cals only!!! That is for a muscly guy weighing 74 kg!!! Their diet was even worse than Atkin's!!! One of them had not even had carbs for a week!!!

There is a competition taking place tomorrow night at the Rajah Court, Kuching. The guys taking part will actually have to go through all the steps and pain of beautifying themselves. Mr. Sarawak was telling me today that he would have to cut his nails, shave all his body hair (from the back of the hand, to the armpits, to the chest and down the legs), trim his nose hair, and hydrate himself well enough, but not too much to give himself an oedema.

Right before the competition, they would have to apply tanning cream onto themselves, from the neck down. That would give their muscles a better dimensional look. One application took about one jar of tanning cream, and one jar of tanning cream cost about RM140.00!!! Imagine that...

I learned today too that it was better to wear a black posing trunk than a red one. The reason was that if you sweat in a red trunk, or had the tanning cream stained it, you would look as if you were having your period!!! Now, imagine THAT!!!

Update! Update!!!

Ah, I finally got around myself to organize some of my pics from my first ever diving trip. There were loads of them, from the moment we went on board, to the moment I put my suit and gear on, and the time when I back-rolled into the water.

It was my open sea exam in April, 2006, and it was Good Friday (just so you know, Good Friday is a public holiday here in Sarawak). Hallelujah, I passed all skills required to perform!!!

I can't quite remember much about the scenery underwater back then. All that I could recall was we were told to do much more than required in the syllabus, but it was worth it, because it was so much fun!!! Tiring, though.

One such extra requirement was the 'Tired Diver Tow'. Each one of us was supposed to pull the other diver (supposedly so tired that he can't even swim himself back to the boat) at the neck of the gas tank (it's normal air inside, not pure oxygen), and swim backwards towards the destination.

Can you imagine trying to swim while pulling someone with you, against the waves and currents? I was lucky that day, for the current was not too strong, and I only had to swim halfway before Edward, the instructor, told us to switch places. Then, I was the tired diver. Ha ha!!!

Just a Thought

Dad has his friends over again tonight.

I do not really like his friends much. I mean, I don't mind some of them, but I do mind it when my mum starts to complain.

And she complains a lot.

Luckily, I was able to see this trait when I was younger. I told myself then that I would not be like her in this sense.

I am still trying. So, God help me!!

My First Deep Sea: Japanese Ship Wreck

Now, I have just been to my first Deep Sea Diving Trip, and I was completely and absolutely ecstatic after that trip. The trip was last Sunday, but I am still elated even until today (it's Thursday today, by the way).

Why? Well, first of all, this was my FIRST deep sea trip!!! Previously I had only been to sites around the Talang-Talang island which depth was only down to 15 m, that would be about the height of a four or five-storeyed building. Places like that are fun, but if they were the ONLY place that you had visited since passing your exam, they could get pretty boring after the third trip.

Secondly, we were a bunch of crazy kids (I called us 'kids' because we all played like any five-year-old would), even though some of us were in our forties (not me definitely, I'm still in my sweet twenties, my skin is still taut and smooth). We played pranks on one another and told silly jokes, before and between dives. Kim, the assistant, was constantly throwing ice down our wet suits, and Edward, our instructor and dive master, would spray tanning oil on everyone and drew pictures on our backs while we were dozing in the shed.

We did three dives that day, at three different sites. The first two sites were where the Japanese war ship had sunk in the days of WW II. The first was a smaller ship and the the second a much bigger one. I was pretty nervous when I did my first dive. The last time I did my dive was roughly about three weeks ago. You start to get a bit rusty if you stop for even two weeks.

It was a long way down, with nothing between the sea bed and the surface. All that you could see was a wall of sea green and white sun light filtering through. But once you reached the bottom, the richness of life underwater would overwhelm you!!! There were corals, and angelfish and even lobsters!!! So much life around you, yet it was peaceful, even with the wrecked ship looming up beside you.

I got seperated from my buddies once, and was ('probably') carried away by the current. Then I lost visibility, seeing nothing but tiny microorganisms floating towards and around me. No ship, no people. I was lost at 20++m under!!!

I was lost under water, but I was not lost myself. One of the most important thing to remember when you are down under is that you must not panic!! Think!! Girl, Think!!! What did the instructor said when he taught about ascending from a depth of more than 18m? (It is considered deep sea if the depth is more than 18m).

Ascend slowly, and do your safety stops.

Alright, ascend slowly, and do my safety stops. I could do that. Now, 20m, 19, 18, 17... 15m, STOP! Now, breathe... Check the air pressure.... keep on breathing.... air pressure ok.... how long am I suppose to stay here???

By the time I reached the surface (I did another stop at 10m), I was alone, and the ship was roughly 200m away. Alright, at least I could still see the ship, though the swim back would be tedious....

Kim gave me a good talk later.... and I hung my head down like a good puppy would trying to show my remorse. But when Kim turned around, I was myself again... Hehehe.... Hey, what's that?? Edward found some bullets from the ship!!! (They were real bullets, those that they used in the standing-type of machine guns, and you use those to bring the airplanes down.)

The last dive was at a sunken barge. It was said that this was a Portugese barge taken by the Japanese. This was the largest of all three ship wrecks. Now this was where all the big lobsters lived. Too bad it's against the law to catch lobsters. Kim saw one that would weigh roughly about 80 grammes, and it was huge!!! Well, at least it was larger than the ones that I saw in Talang-Talang.

Fish, another lady diver (she is really called that), suffered from mild decompression symptoms. Pity her, she vomitted thrice and had a throbbing headache, which paracetamol did no help. Oh well, so much for going to the RainForest after our dive.

By the time we reached the jetty, the sky was dark, mosquitoes were everywhere. Never, ever, get yourself bitten by swamp mosquitoes. Their bites are the worst!!!

Oh, I am going back to Talang-Talang for my next dive. Now that I know, I need more practice. So, next trip, Talang-Talang, be there for me... :)

My Friday Evening Japanese Class

It usually starts at 7 p.m. I have Japanese class for two hours, which I never really studied after my first three months. Nowadays I sit in class staring down at my notes, allowing my mind to drift from one random spot to the other. Take for example today, I sat there, third row from the front and to the most right, thinking about the new badminton racket that I bought the night before.

I should have pick the orange one, rather than the red one. Or wait a minute, may be I'll just buy the orange one too, it wasn't too expensive....

I looked to the clock at 7.50 p.m. We were finishing the first part of the Model paper. There were four kinds of questions asked under the first part, but they were objective questions and you had four choices to choose from..

Chris was not able to pick up the rackets tonight, so I might just have to go get it myself... He wanted to pick them up tomorrow, but I just couldn't wait 'til tomorrow to see my new racket...

8.10 p.m., Mr. Foo, the teacher, started to talk about the second part of the model paper. Listening.

Chris was supposed to pay for the rest of the money... I guessed I could pay for him first and ask for it the next time... But I would have to stop by the bank later to punch out some money...

8.20 p.m. Mr. Foo played the tape for listening.

Well, I guessed I would have to stop by the bank... I could still make it 'til the end of this month without going hungry... the shop closed at ten, so if I were quick, I would be able to make it to the shop before it was closed....

8.30 p.m. Mr. Foo explained the last part of the paper.

May be I should buy that orange one too... If I shared with Delon, then we could get that buy 1 free 1 offer with an additional bag... that was good bargain... I won't mind having three rackets in my possession.... anyhow I was kinda like a collector...

8.50 p.m. Level 4 Vocabulary.

Should I ask Delon to come with me to the shop to collect our rackets? I had one hour to spare, so may be we could make it before the shop closed...

9.00 p.m. Class over.

Should I buy, or should I not buy....???